Various fastening devices for disposable diapers have been employed for fastening the waistband portion about the torso of the user. Among these are adhesive fastening devices, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,180,355; 3,630,201; 4,047,530; 4,049,001; 4,050,453 and French Patent 7,436,169. The fastening device generally comprises an adhesive tab attached to the outer (backing) sheet of the diaper at the rear portion and the active adhesive surface of the tab is stuck onto another portion of the backing sheet surface near the front portion thereby closing the diaper. The adhesive system of diaper closing may need repeated reopening and reclosing to check the user's condition or whether the diaper needs changing. In use, the diaper may stretch or otherwise become loosened, thereby resulting in applying the adhesive portion of the tab in a new zone on the backsheet surface. Failure of the diaper may result if the tab adhesive becomes contaminated with baby powder, oil or the like; or should the tab and backsheet adhesion result in a tear of the area where the tab is initially applied. The torn area of the backsheet of the diaper will stay adhered to the tab. In either event, the reclosing of the diaper is ineffective, at least insofar as that tab is concerned, which results in premature failure of the diaper and its unnecessary disposal.
The problem of tearing the backsheet (liquid-impermeable) material by unfastening of the adhesive tab has been dealt with by providing a region of reinforcement on the backsheet in the normal landing zone for the tab of the adhesive surface.
Mechanical fastening systems have been devised which provide for repeated refastening of the diaper garment, such as is disclosed in copending application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 089,660, filed Aug. 25, 1987, and owned by the assignee of the present application. The fastening system of the copending application utilizes a plurality of cooperating snap fasteners along the sides of the diaper extending in their fixed point placement in the span from the waistband to the leg opening, and the snap fasteners provide a primary closure of the garment on the wearer along the sides in the waist-to-leg span. This is supplemented by a secondary closure effecting a continuous closure between the spaced-apart snap fasteners and provide a full length fastening in the span from the waist to leg region. The secondary closure is disclosed as cohesive adhesive strips in one form, or as an alternative a hook and loop fabric fastener tape, referred to as Velcro.RTM. fastener materials, placed between the snaps and along the tape extending on the sides of the diaper between waistband and leg opening. The hook and loop fastener is disclosed as a "Velcro-type fastener", which provides the means for securing the waistband around the body of the wearer. Another mechanical system for diaper closing is described in a published French Patent Application No. 2,594,650, in which there is generally disclosed an arrangement of tabs attached to the ends of the rear waistband provided with hook fasteners which fasten to a strip of loop material attached to the exterior surface at the front of the diaper.